Cotton Center student home after being hit by teachers car

Published 11:32 am, Tuesday, October 5, 2010

COTTON CENTER - A Cotton Center High School student was injured after she was struck by truck driven by a teacher during homecoming festivities last week.

Sophomore Victoria Gonzalez was helping paint the main street in town on Thursday, something students have done for the past several years, although it's not affiliated with Cotton Center ISD, KCBD-TV reported Monday.

Gonzalez was one of several students on FM 179 when junior Matthew Stickney saw a truck driving toward the group. Stickney yelled at Gonzalez to get out of the way, but not in time and she was hit by the truck.

"I thought she was dead there for a minute, but then she started making noise and her eyes started to open," Stickney told KCBD.

That's when Stickney said he saw a Cotton Center teacher get out from behind the wheel. The teacher's name was not immediately available from the Texas Department of Public Safety, which investigated the accident.

Gonzalez suffered multiple fractures in her pelvis and had two open puncture wounds. She has since been released from the hospital, but family members say her medical bills could total at least $90,000. They are working with Medicaid for assistance.

"There needs to be somebody responsible, and I don't feel like it should be Victoria," said Gonzalez's mother, Yvonne Jimenez.

Jimenez says after talking with the teacher's insurance company, it appears since Victoria was in the street, her medical bills will not be covered by the driver's insurance.

(Contact Deborah Zacher at dzacher@hearstnp.com at 806-296-1360. Become her fan on Facebook.)